Gatnerin Steam Dogwood Bike ride, Palestine, TX

April 2011

This ride had about 110 riders. I did the 61 mile route which consisted of rolling hills and a few short climbs. It is an easier ride than Beauty and the Beast in Tyler. East Texas in the spring is beautiful and worth the 2 hour drive from Dallas. The Palestine Chamber served a great barbeque and beer event in the adjacent shaded park which was a great way to relax after the ride. Like most rides, the bathroom situation needs to be better handled at the Start area in the morning.

April 3, 2010

It was a beautiful day for a bike ride in East Texas. I did the 61 mile route and the roads were smooth and pretty much traffic free. The one exception was about a 5 mile portion of Highway 175 east of Athens, which is a heavily traveled highway, and it required that bikes travel on the shoulder. This section was a real body-rattler, but perhaps this route was the only way to connect back to Palestine.
This was a small ride, about 100 riders. There were 100, 61, 34 and 8 mile routes. The organizers did a nice job and wanted to make sure the riders had a good time. They served a great post-ride barbeque and offered Michelob Ultras at the nearby park. Go do this ride for the scenery, the volunteers’ enthusiasm and to ride some rolling hills. Palestine is about a two hour drive from Dallas.

March 28, 2009

The folks in Palestine put on a very nice ride. Obviously they couldn't control the cold and very windy weather, but they provided ample support for the dozen riders that attempted the 100K course. I stopped at most of the rest stops, they all had bananas/oranges, cookies, and water/gatorade. They were well coordinated in that they would be in place just before the first riders would arrive. There were at least 2 SAG vehicles that were constantly monitoring the riders. There was police escort out of town and I had an escort the last 12 miles back into town. The Palestine police definitely supported the riders.
The course layout was perfect for the winds with only 3-4 miles into the wind. It was mostly crosswinds with a several miles of tailwinds at the north end of the course. The southern half of the route had smooth roads, with the rest the mostly worn chipseal. Lots of great scenery among the rolling hills. Hopefully the weather will be nicer next year and lead to a bigger turnout. Overall a very good event put on by the folks there.